Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Introducing an Approved Sales System for National Lottery Products

Mr John Whittingdale: Following a consultation, the government announced last year that it was raising the age at which National Lottery products can be bought and sold from 16 to 18, protecting young people from the possible risk of gambling harm. The new minimum age comes into force on October 1st and the operator and retailers have already stopped selling tickets to anyone aged below 18.Following a further consultation which was held in July and August, the government intends to make some technical amendments to the requirements placed on retailers in connection with the uplift in the minimum age for buying and selling National Lottery products from 16 to 18, and today a statutory instrument is being laid which will introduce this change.The approved sales system is a minor technical easement and will be based on the two existing provisions already in place for alcohol sales in England, Wales and Scotland, and for sales of tobacco and nicotine vaping products in Scotland, through which a designated person aged 18 or over can approve a transaction being handled by a 16 or 17 year old. This approach therefore builds on an existing framework and maintains the intent of the original policy.The majority of National Lottery retailers will already be familiar with at least one of the systems. By offering both approaches we hope that the easement will meet the diverse needs of the National Lottery’s 44,000 retailers who range from large supermarket chains to small independent family run shops.The consultation response is being published today on gov.uk and thank you to everyone who took the time to respond.

Department for Education

Prevailing Market Rates

Michelle Donelan: I am announcing today a temporary reduction in the maximum student loan interest rate following the recent decline in the prevailing market rate for comparable unsecured personal loans.In accordance with the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998, where the Government considers that the student loan interest rate is higher than the prevailing market rate for comparable unsecured loans, we will take steps to reduce the maximum student loan interest rate.The Government regularly monitors the interest rates set on student loans against the interest rates prevailing on the market for comparable loans.Following a decline in the prevailing market rate, I have today, 9 September laid legislation to cap the maximum Post-2012 income contingent repayment undergraduate and the postgraduate income contingent repayment student loan interest rate in line with the prevailing market rate. The cap will come into effect from 1 October 2021 and last for a period of three months.The reduction will be 0.4 percentage point on the maximum student loan interest rate to reflect the average market rates during the preceding monitoring period.The maximum Post-2012 undergraduate income contingent repayment student loan interest rate and the postgraduate income contingent repayment student loan interest rate will be 4.1% between 1 October and 31 December.From 1 January 2022, the Post-2012 undergraduate and postgraduate income contingent repayment student loan interest rates will revert to the standard rate +3%.Further caps may be put in place should the prevailing market rate continue to be below student loan interest rates.

Statement on Adoption Provision

Gavin Williamson: Every child should have the opportunity to fulfil their potential. Children thrive in loving, stable families. However, some face challenges which most of us can only imagine. They will often have experienced abuse and neglect. Where a child cannot live with their birth parents the best alternative home will often be with other family members or within loving foster families. For some children, adoption is the best alternative.We cannot overestimate how important a new family is to an adopted child. Their security comes from knowing that they are safe and cared for, that they will get the love and support they need and will be supported to make the most of life’s opportunities. That is why we published our new adoption strategy “Achieving Excellence Everywhere”. A copy of the strategy can be found at gov.uk(opens in a new tab)In 2015 the adoption system was highly fragmented, with around 180 agencies recruiting and matching adopters; most of these were operating at a very small scale. This caused delays in the recruitment of adopters and in the matching of children with approved adopters. Since then, we have moved successfully to a regionalised approach with 31 regional adoption agencies covering 145 local authorities across the country. Regional adoption agencies are delivering adoption services more effectively at a greater scale with the regional leaders collaborating to improve services and address challenges.In 2015 we introduced the Adoption Support Fund to help children who have experienced abuse and neglect to get the therapeutic support they need. Since then, over 36,000 individual children have been supported and had their lives transformed.We have reduced the number of children waiting from 5,000 in 2010 to 2,600 now, and children are moving in with adoptive families faster, with more families now getting the adoption support they need. This is good progress, but we need to do more. 2,600 children waiting is still too many. 1,000 children are still waiting over 18 months to be matched; this is too long. This typically includes older children, children from ethnic minorities, sibling groups and children with additional needs. This is unacceptable.Our strategy sets out a bold and ambitious vision which will see regional adoption agencies building on their collaborative approach to deliver a framework of national standards and working with other agencies across health, education, and justice so that high-quality provision is available everywhere across the country. This will help to ensure that adopted children and their families can access the services and support they need to flourish wherever they live.A new framework of national standards will mean services delivered to the same high quality across the country. It means that best practice will drive services as part of a culture of continuous improvement.The strategy will see us recruiting adopters from all communities and from all walks of life so that we recruit all those who are able to provide loving homes to the children who are waiting to be adopted. A service where children are matched seamlessly across organisational boundaries with families that can provide a loving home without unnecessary delay.Our strategy sets out how we will radically improve adoption support from the moment a match with a family has been approved. This includes not only direct support in the home, but also by schools and local health services, and support which continues throughout their childhood whenever it is required.Sector leaders will build on their collaborative approach to ensure that all services are delivered to the same high standards across the country-developing the new national standards. Where it is most effective, we will look to deliver services on a national scale, for example on adopter recruitment or some elements of support.To ensure that the needs of adoptive families become a high priority for all, sector leaders will develop strong partnerships with local authority children’s services, Voluntary Adoption Agencies, education, health, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, the judiciary and voluntary and community groups.We are making significant investment in 2021-22 as part of the strategy:£1m for regional adoption agency leaders to collectively improve recruitment and the adopter approval process;£500k to increase early permanence arrangements (whereby a child is placed with prospective adopters when first removed from their birth family);£46m to continue post adoption support for families through the Adoption Support Fund;£500k to employ a National regional adoption agency strategic leader and a support team of two project workers to progress collaborative working on agreed priority areas; &£100k funding to commission research on outcomes of children who left care on an adoption or Special Guardianship Order.Our ambition is to deliver adoption swiftly and effectively when adoption is the right path for the child. They and their families deserve the very best services we can offer to help them thrive and to achieve the best possible outcomes. Our strategy will help them to do so.A copy of the strategy will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Department of Health and Social Care

COVID-19 Update

Sajid Javid: I wish to inform the House of the action the Government is taking to consider how to further improve uptake of Covid-19 and Flu vaccinations by those who work in our health and social care services. Following a public consultation on making Covid-19 vaccination a condition of deployment for those working in adult care homes, the Government informed the House on 17 June 2021 that Covid-19 vaccination would be required of people entering a CQC registered adult care home, unless exempt, to protect vulnerable residents. While residents in care homes are some of the most at risk from Covid-19, the responses to this initial consultation made a clear case for extending this policy beyond care homes to other settings where vulnerable people receive care and treatment. It is right that the Government strains every sinew to maximise the benefits of the vaccine and protect the most vulnerable as we return our freedoms and get back to a normal way of life. The Government is therefore now undertaking a further public consultation on whether or not to make Covid-19 vaccination and Flu vaccination a condition of deployment for frontline health and care workers, to help safeguard the vulnerable. While many of those working in health and social care sectors have taken up the offer of vaccination, it is crucial that this is consistent across services to safeguard vulnerable people, and that this high level is maintained as new people join the workforce. Recent research has shown people infected with both Flu and Covid-19 are more than twice as likely to die as someone with Covid-19 alone and nearly six times more likely than those with neither flu nor Covid-19, so it is right that both are considered within the consultation. These are complex and important issues and the consultation seeks to gather a wide range of perspectives from the public and across the health and care sectors about whether vaccination requirements should be introduced and how they could be implemented. I will provide an update to the House, following the completion of the consultation.